Police use pepper balls to subdue man accused of handcuffing, beating his mother

JANESVILLE—Police used PepperBall pellets Friday to subdue a Janesville man accused of handcuffing and hitting his mother.

Cory D. Berkley, 41, of 4403 Huntinghorne Drive, is accused of pushing and hitting his 65-year-old mother “during a verbal rant,” police said in a news release.

Berkley used handcuffs to pin his mother to the ground during the assault, police said.

Berkley was arrested on charges of false imprisonment, battery, strangulation and disorderly conduct, all as acts of domestic violence.

Police were called at 10:37 a.m. Friday. Officers told Berkley he was under arrest, but he retreated to the home's basement, according to the release.

Officers shot the PepperBall pellets into the basement.

“Berkley initially refused but eventually was overcome by the chemical munitions and surrendered to officers.” according to the release.

Berkley was taken to the Rock County Jail pending an initial appearance.

PepperBalls are deployed with a launcher that shoots the balls out of a barrel using compressed air. The balls fragment on impact with a hard surface, spraying a powdered substance of the same origins as the liquid in a pepper-spray canister, police said.